The Best Book in the World

The Book of Kells (Irish: Leabhar Cheanannais) (Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. (58), sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure.



The illustrations and ornamentation of the Book of Kells surpass that of other Insular Gospel books in extravagance and complexity. The decoration combines traditional Christian iconography with the ornate swirling motifs typical of Insular art. Figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts, together with Celtic knots and interlacing patterns in vibrant colours, enliven the manuscript's pages. Many of these minor decorative elements are imbued with Christian symbolism and so further emphasise the themes of the major illustrations.




The manuscript today comprises 340 folios and, since 1953, has been bound in four volumes. The leaves are on high-quality calf vellum, and the unprecedentedly elaborate ornamentation that covers them includes ten full-page illustrations and text pages that are vibrant with historiated initials and interlinear miniatures and mark the furthest extension of the anti-classical and energetic qualities of Insular art. The Insular majuscule script of the text itself appears to be the work of at least three different scribes. The lettering is in iron-gall ink, and the colours used were derived from a wide range of substances, many of which were imports from distant lands.




The manuscript takes its name from the Abbey of Kells that was its home for centuries. Today, it is on permanent display at the Trinity College Library, Dublin. The library usually displays two of the current four volumes at a time, one showing a major illustration and the other showing typical text pages.






-Wikipedia-

A bit of History

1099 – First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege. (I know the painting features the siege of Acre...)




The Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, Order of St. John, Knights of Malta, and Chevaliers de Malte; Italian: Cavalieri dell'Ordine dell'Ospedale di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme or Cavalieri di Malta, French: Ordre des Hospitaliers, Maltese: Ordni ta’ San Ġwann) is a Christian organization that began as an Amalfitan hospital founded in Jerusalem in approximately 1023 to provide care for poor, sick or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land. After the Western Christian conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade, it became a religious/military order under its own charter, and was charged with the care and defence of the Holy Land. Following the conquest of the Holy Land by Islamic forces, the Order operated from Rhodes, over which it was sovereign, and later from Malta where it administered a vassal state under the Spanish viceroy of Sicily.

Illegal lentil plantation in our room
Day 5




Something seems to be growing shyly from there... =)



I know it isn't the prettiest of sights, but it will get better!! =)



Well... I'll put more photographs about it tomorrow...
I know I may seem a very bored, or rather weird, person... I am quite bored lately... very true :)

Illegal lentil plantation in our room
Day 4

Seems like something is comming out there... =)

It's a bit disgusting... I know... :O

Illegal lentil plantation in our room...
Day 3

We can't obseve many changes, just that the number of plantpots grow because I keep on planting more ... =)




I'm looking for some names... one of them is called "Plátano"... any suggestions for the other two?

Illegal lentil plantation in our room
Day 2




They still are very much the same as yesterday...

Illegal lentil plantantion in our room... =)
Day 1

"The sun shone down for nearly a week on the secret garden. The Secret Garden was what Mary called it when she was thinking of it. She liked the name, and she liked still more the feeling that when its beautiful old walls shut her in, no one knew where she was. It seemed almost like being shut out of the world in some fairy place. The few books she had read and liked had been fairy-story books, and she had read of secret gardens in some of the stories."

Antrim was a wonderful place in summer, I used to go there with my grandparents, and as a child, I loved it. I would run around as I pleased, free to jump all about my Granfather's garden. He would sit having his tea, waiting for me to get tired, mumbling about me squishing the grass. He wasn't a patient man, and soon went inside in search of a banana or some maggots, depending on his mood. Fishing was one of his favourite pastimes, and those disgusting worms were essential, how else could he attract fish to his fishing rod without a tasty, though squirmy, snack for them?

The banana was another beloved figure in his life; sliced with some wheetabix for breakfast, with tea at lunch time after his sandwich, whenever he had a cup of tea (just for the pleasure of it), if we ever went for a picnic to Malin Head, to Carrick-a-Rede, Ballintoy, Portrush Beach, MrBanana Head came along. He used to say bananas were very good for you, because they are fruit. While my Grandmother would argue saying that "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"

He was not Spanish, but he enjoyed his "siestas", moment I used to arrange a pathetic pony tail on his half bald head, laughing so much I was crying buckets until he woke up and acted normal, not knowing he had a pink bubble with furballs hanging from his head.

Usually after the nap he would go in the kitchen to fetch a cuppa tea and a banana (unless my cousin and I had tried to cook something). In there Granny would be watching "Neighbours" on the telly, and wouldn't notice his hairdo either. I had to wait until he needed the bathroom and saw himself in the mirror to laugh again. And then hide, beacuse he had a bit of a bad temper.

He was a bit headstrong; with 8 or 9 years I could not convince him that Spain was bigger than Ireland, not even if I brought the WorldAtlas from the Library. Walking on top of the cliffs of Fair Head we had our little argument, and as soon as we went home I looked for my Library Card and hurried to fetch the heavy book.
I think he was just trying to annoy me, but well.

There are lots of things I could say about him, but I'll just finish saying this: I miss going to Ireland, yes, but not as much as I would miss it if he were still alive. I has been some years now, but I think about him quite often. Every time I see a magpie I remember his efforts trying to pronounce it in Spanish, or when I see a fishing shop, or when someone says the word "daft", which is what he called me. Also when I see anything related to the Titanic I remember he used to say his father worked to build it in H&W, the shipyard.

During the confusion and bewilderment of the second day Mary hid herself in the nursery and was forgotten by everyone. Nobody thought of her, nobody wanted her, and strange things happened of which she knew nothing. Mary alternately cried and slept through the hours. She only knew that people were ill and that she heard mysterious and frightening sounds. Once she crept into the dining room and found it empty, though a party finished meal was on the table and chairs and plates looked as if they had been hastily pushed back when the diners rose suddenly for some reason. The child ate some fruit and biscuits, and being thirsty she drank a glass of wine which stood nearly filled. It was sweet, and she did not know how strong it was. Very soon it made her intensely drowsy, and she went back to her nursery and shut herself in again, frightened by cries she heard in the huts and by the hurrying sound of feet. The wine made her so sleepy that she could scarcely keep her eyes open, and lay downon her bed and knew nothing more for a long time.

Many things happened during the hours in which she slept so heavily, but she was not disturbed by the wails and the sound of things being carried in and out of the bungalow. When she awakened she lay and stared at the wall. The house was perfectly still. She had never know it to be so silent silent before. She heard neither voices nor footsteps, and wondered if everyone had got well of the cholera and all the trouble was over. She wondered also also who would take care of her now her Ayah was dead. There would be a new Ayah, and perhaps she would know some new stories. Mary had been rather tired of the old ones. She did not cry because her nurse had died. She was not an affectionate child and had never cared much for anyone. The noise and hurrying about and wailing over the cholera had frightened her, and she had been angry because no one seemed to remember that she was alive. Everyone was too panic-stricken to think of a little girl no one was fond of. When people had the cholera it seemed that they remembered nothing but themselves. But if everyone had got well again, surely someone would remember and come to look for her.

But no one came, and as she lay waiting the house seemed to grow more and more silent. She heard something rustling on the matting, and when she looked down she saw a little snake gliding along and watching her with eyes like jewels. She was not frightened, because he was a harmless little thing who would not hurt her, and he seemed in a hurry to get out of the room. He slipped under the door as she watched him.

"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Jabberwockey!

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch

Beware the jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand;

Long time the manxome foe he sought.

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came.

One, two! One,two! And through and through,
The vorpal blade went sniker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe,

All mimsy were the borogroves,

And the mome raths outgabe.

Whereabouts!

These will be my whereabouts "nächtes Jahr" (next year)... I'm pretty scared about it, because my german isn't very good... and they've told me that in Switzerland they speak a diferent version of german than in other countries like Germany (Obv.) and Austria...

Plus... I'll be all on my own for a whole year... God help me... cuz no one else will...

Now I live here: in Salamanca... It's a gorgeous city full of students, and this year I've made lots of friends that I hope will last for loads of years to come!!

People doing my same degree are beezer! and I dunno what I would have done without them... You girls are the best! Plus... with who would I go shopping if not with you??(Love ya peopleeeeeeee!!)

Those who live in the same residence with me are also great friends that would make me very sad to lose... (Love y'all!!) They are with me nearly 24 hours a day... and even if they sometimes get on my nerves... They're my friends!

The Cow/Lion (Panthera vacuna)

Once a lady of my family made a very funny mistake:

We were in the car going across many fields and farms, when she gasped and exclaimed:

"whoa! there's a lion over there"

we all stared looking for the big cat....

It was a cow... :D

The funniest joke by Monty Python

Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja!
Beierhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!

At some rate I'll try to translate it... =)

If someone finds some sense in it.... please say so...

I believe it doesn't actually mean anything...

I love this cat!!! =)

He's sooooooo cute.. and I love his perfect british accent!!! (L)

Bandersnatch... :P

The big one resembles a scary person and the other... a git =)

I'm new... but well...

Hiya!!
I'm new at this... so I'll just say some stuff 'bout me:
I'm really bored at the moment, so I created this blog... =)
I am one of those people whose friends call a 'freak'... so I'll probably post some weird thingies
(If someone doesn't like it... snuff out!!)